Duke University

Younger than most other prestigious U.S. research universities, Duke University consistently ranks among the very best. Duke’s graduate and professional schools — in business, divinity, engineering, the environment, law, medicine, nursing and public policy — are among the leaders in their fields. Duke’s home campus is situated on nearly 9,000 acres in Durham, N.C, a city of more than 200,000 people. Duke also is active internationally through the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore, Duke Kunshan University in China and numerous research and education programs across the globe.

Duke University was created in 1924 by James Buchanan Duke as a memorial to his father, Washington Duke. The Dukes, a Durham family that built a worldwide financial empire in the manufacture of tobacco products and developed electricity production in the Carolinas, long had been interested in Trinity College. Trinity traced its roots to 1838 in nearby Randolph County when local Methodist and Quaker communities opened Union Institute. The school, then named Trinity College, moved to Durham in 1892, where Benjamin Newton Duke served as a primary benefactor and link with the Duke family until his death in 1929. In December 1924, the provisions of indenture by Benjamin’s brother, James B. Duke, created the family philanthropic foundation, The Duke Endowment, which provided for the expansion of Trinity College into Duke University.

Amoung numerous famous graduates, some of the Duke University Alimni are:

• Arkady Dvorkovich PhD’98: Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation
• William Eacho ’76: U.S. Ambassador to Austria
• Stuart Jones ’82: U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
• Ricardo Lagos AM’63, PhD’66: Former president of Chile
• Amit Mitra AM’76, PhD’78: Finance minister of India’s West Bengal, winner of India's national civilian Padma Shri Award
• Mayassa al-Thani ’05: Chairperson, Qatar Museums Authority, daughter of the Emir of Qatar
• Gao Xiqing JD’86: Former president, and CIO, China Investment Corporation

Times Higher Education ranked it 18th globally, 23 according to QS.

Duke Medicine integrates patient care with the clinical, training and research programs of the Duke University Health System, Duke University School of Medicine and Duke University School of Nursing. Duke University Hospital is the flagship of the broader Health System, which also includes two community hospitals (Durham Regional Hospital and Duke Raleigh Hospital) and more than 200 ambulatory care clinics.

Duke Athletics, part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, fields teams in 26 NCAA Division I varsity sports. The Blue Devils have won national championships in men’s basketball, lacrosse and soccer, and women’s golf and tennis. The Duke Sports Hall of Fame, in the Schwartz-Butters Athletic Center next to Cameron Indoor Stadium, is open to the public.

Duke Law School is an ambitious, forward-thinking, and innovative institution whose mission is to prepare students for responsible and productive lives in the legal profession. As a community of scholars, the Law School also provides leadership at the national and international levels in efforts to improve the law and legal institutions through teaching, research, and other forms of public service.

Schools and Colleges

• Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
• School of Law
• Divinity School
• Graduate School
• School of Medicine
• School of Nursing
• Pratt School of Engineering
• Fuqua School of Business
• Sanford School of Public Policy
• Nicholas School of the Environment